Wherever
by multiply014
Summary: CoAi Week Day 2: Protect. How can you protect someone thousands of miles away? [CoAi] [ShinShi]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** _CoAi Week Day 2! This prompt is so difficult to write... so this got out of hand real quick, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! XD_

 _I hope you guys would consider posting a gif, or a thought piece (or anything really!) for the week! Let's celebrate our ship (since it can't sail by itself XD XD XD)!_

 _And be sure to check out what the others have for you! In case you don't want to miss anything, I think the mods of .com are doing an awesome job of reblogging content. Visit the page! :D_

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 **Day 2. Protect : Wherever**

 _How can you protect someone thousands of miles away? [CoAi] [ShinShi]_

On days that he isn't out on a case—yes, he's still skipping school days for cases—Kudo Shinichi attends classes with a bored look on his face which seems permanently turned towards the window.

He's looking out of the window again.

Mouri Ran, seated behind him this semester, is more than happy to have him back with them—in fact she had been over the moon when he finally said he's back for good. The first few days made her believe that everything had come back to normal. As back to normal as can be for a new couple—not really that new, but it was only then that they'd spent much time together again. She still blushes when she looks back on that one week—but she sees him staring out the window and reality comes crashing down.

Clearly, whatever had happened to him the past year, something he just can't seem to tell her, was something that changed him. He's still with his boyish looks, but now, his countenance is much more mature. He relegates to the background when he's solved the case, sometimes looking over his shoulder or to the nearest wall like it was his place to be. Almost… longingly? He seems to want to be out of the spotlight so much now. He's still brave, but now he's much more mellow. After a few incidents with him restless in the background, almost fidgeting, while the inspectors wrap up the case—when he usually takes that flashy part of case solving for himself!—he settles on solving cases via phone. But he skips classes anyway.

Well. He used to skip. She didn't let him for long though. She caught him skipping, poring over the professor's thick science books instead of getting ready for class. Then, she caught him skipping, his nose buried under the same books he'd been so busy about in the professor's home, but this time on the school rooftop. And then, she caught him skipping, sitting on the swing on the playground. That time, she was about to let him—it was weeks since he last smiled, genuinely smiled—because she can tell when he's really happy—and with the kids he's so fond of, his smiles seem less forced. Though, a deeper melancholy showed on his face in flashes when he thought no one was looking. Guilt? Regret? ..Or, again, longing? What happened to him the past year, and on that day after the week he came back, that he's suddenly so… lonely? When the kids left for school, his gaze, then fixated on the empty bench under the tree, turned heavy, almost cold. She couldn't leave him. So she forced him to class.

To be honest, his mind is still skipping—he's barely paying any attention. Teachers leave him be since when he gets called on he answers perfectly anyway.

She supposes she should feel special. She'd been the only person who could make him come back to class. It would be a lie to say she doesn't hope they'd get back together but…

That day, after the week they'd been so, so happy together—at least she hopes he felt that way too, then—he didn't come to class. She found him, sitting blankly on his doorstep, looking like someone ripped his heart out and threw it away. Like he had just died—except he's alive and he'd rather just—no, best not think about it. Minutes pass, and she can't approach him. And then, he sees her. The corner of his lips turn up in what's supposed to be a smile, but his eyes, his eyes are cold, broken. He says, "Ah, Ran, I'm okay."

But they weren't.

The following weeks then was Shinichi brooding when he thought she wasn't watching. He avoided her when she asked why. And when she told him they're good friends, so why can't he tell her!? He was shocked—and she started hoping!—and he says, "Yes, we're good friends."

And that was that.

During breaks he puts on that air of arrogance and nonchalance, which is basically him trying to appear like the past him—and it works. Even Sonoko can't see what Ran is worried about.

But when his phone rings, he's out of the room as fast as lightning. At first she'd thought it was him missing the thrill of a case, and she'd been excited for him too, since he'd finally be back to himself, but it wasn't. When she catches up to him, she'll find him talking in hushed tones. Then he'll usually make several more calls, with an excited, frustrated expression—but always, always with an undercurrent of worry, loss... and longing. She wonders why she still chases after him when it's always the same scene she sees.

Today, is a usual day. He looks out of the window, and Ran looks at him.

Then, suddenly, his eyes bug, and he propels his body to the window—there's no other apt description for it—and the class is surprised, but not really disturbed—they're far too used to his case-solving antics by now.

But Ran knows, this is different. His eyes have light in them, his hands in fist, almost shaking, wide smile threatening to break out on his face. She and the other classmates look out the window too, and they manage to catch two—no, she saw three figures, but one disappeared right out of view, walking in the yard. His… parents? He'd been so happy to see his parents? She suddenly questions herself, maybe she'd been worried about nothing, maybe he'd been just really sad because of a case, or had been rejected in, maybe, joining the FBI? But why the need to go back as friends… to focus? To—

"No way," he whispers, eyes twinkling, lips in that familiar grin of his that's maddeningly contagious.

He rushes out of the classroom, shouts an apology to the teacher and his classmates, who shouldn't be used to this behavior really, but they are.

Ran follows, and suddenly she thinks back on the calls he's made—was he… is he… leaving?

She slows down, then bursts out running. She's still a friend, so she at least deserves to know if he is planning to leave!

Turning right towards the corridor where he can hear his voice—and his mother's?—she sprints just a little faster.

"—take so long?!" He says.

"Of course! —NOT an easy task, you kid!" Ran can barely hear his mom until she's rounded the corner.

But she slows down when she hears a different voice, familiar, but all the same, foreign. A soothing female voice, velvety.

"You didn't have to have Yukiko-san and Yusaku-san watch over me, you know?"

"Of course I did. They aren't doing anything anyway. Besides, how would I be sure what they'd do to you there? They told me you were off all the organization business and they suddenly took you!"

"And I told you I'd be fine—and I am. Don't you trust me?"

"I'd be fine, my ass. You almost GOT KILLED while you were there, woman!"

"But I didn't."

"Because I told them to protect you!"

"And I'm supposed to thank you now?"

"Yeah, I guess, you ungrateful—"

"—For getting, oh, I don't know, a thousand-man army to stalk me while I'm in D.C.?"

"Oh, stop exaggerating—I only asked eleven. And I wouldn't have had to if you didn't force me to stay here."

"Because your life is here, moron!"

"You're not the one who gets to say that."

Yukiko, though enjoying the scene, finally intervenes, "Okay, both of you stop arguing! You're supposed to have a touching reunion—"

In unison, "HAH?"

"—And this isn't really the place for such passionate display."

Again, this time both blushing—but they don't notice—"HAH?!"

Ran just needs to take one step, and she'd reach them. To meet the family she's known all her life. But suddenly, she, feels like an outsider.

"Shiho-chan still needs to go to the admissions office," Yusaku speaks, after an amused chuckle.

Shinichi, recovering in moment, realization sinking in, "You really agreed?" He looks like a kid with a candy.

She grimaces. "Did I have a choice?"

"Seriously? You'll really attend classes?"

"This isn't a thank you, by the way. You'd just bug me to go if I didn't. This saves me the torture."

He laughs. "You're really not cute."

"Oh, wow, thanks for the compliment. You aren't too, if you must know."

When they turn to continue to the office, they catch sight of Ran, frozen still.

Shinichi calls her over as soon as he spots her, oblivious, "Ah, Ran, what are you doing there?"

Yukiko then greets her, "Ran-chan! It's been so long! How has Shinichi bothered you today?"

Shinichi, indignant, denies, "Excuse me?"

Yusaku, ever the sensible one, introduces the girl. "Ran, she's Miyano Shiho, a girl we've been taking care of in America."

She bows. "I'm in your care, Mouri-san. I've heard a lot about you."

She snaps out of her stupor, and quickly replies, "Ah, just Ran is fine!"

"Ran-san, then." Shiho smiles, and it's as if she's been longing to see Ran. But Ran is confused how that can be when they've only met today. Clearly, she's being over-sensitive.

Shiho whispers, "Don't worry about me, Ran-san, Kudo-kun and I are barely friends. He's all yours."

"E-Eh?! W-we're just friends too."

"Oh? ...But I still apologize for interrupting you two. Yukiko-san and Yusaku-san will be going with me to the office. You two can go and… attend class, I guess."

Miyano Shiho smiles as she waves goodbye. Shinichi sees her, chuckles in disbelief, and laughs loudly when Shiho throws a look at him, eyes like daggers boring holes into Shinichi's head.

Shinichi shakes his head, still chuckling to himself. It's the happiest she's seen him in weeks. She gets the feeling there's a whole lot that has happened in the past year that she doesn't know, but after meeting Miyano Shiho, she thinks she had just learned of the most important piece of all. After all, the moment she came, Shinichi has become complete again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** _After I read the review asking for a continuation, in my happiness, I impulsively posted a promise on tumblr that I'd write one, so I did! I thought I'd have this up before the year ended but, well, here we are, ha ha ha._

 _With this, one promised extra chapter down, many more impulse promises to fulfill… Oh well, I dug this pit on my own… TAT_

 _Also, if you could leave reviews or drop an ask on tumblr, it would really brighten up my day! It doesn't have to be about anything, really, I'm just lonely, haha! As always, thank you for reading!_

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Days pass by quietly—as _quiet_ as life with Shinichi Kudo can be. That is, to say, it's not really peaceful, but it isn't really all that different from how the past few weeks have gone: a mix of school, cases, trips and more cases.

That doesn't mean it's been _exactly_ the same though. Aside from the obvious difference that is the addition of a Miyano Shiho in class ( _and in their_ , Ran and Shinichi's, _daily routine_ , Ran's mind unnecessarily adds), Shinichi just seems... _brighter_. He's as lively as before he pulled the whole on-and-off disappearing act for an entire year, but now just a notch more carefree, open and teasing. There's also a whole new level of sarcasm and dry wit about him, though Ran has this niggling feeling that he doesn't always throw replies laced in, what she thinks is light-hearted, mockery, only when—only when what? (Ran decides to think about that more tomorrow.) At the same time though, he's much more laidback, and she can see in his shoulders that have lost their weeks' worth of tension that there's a particular aura of security that's enveloping him.

But those are the little things that only Ran can see. If Sonoko were asked—and Ran did, of course—nothing's really changed. Ran can't blame Sonoko, since, after all, _she_ hadn't been there when Shinichi looked like a ghost, or someone _soon to be_ a ghost, frozen at the doorstep of the Kudo mansion. Now, he's nearly blindingly _bright_. Thinking back to Shinichi's empty gazes out the window before a certain event happened ( _Shiho arrived_ , her mind uncooperatively supplies), it's almost scary how quick the change was completed. As if the period of time where Shinichi just looked so lost, and empty—which she now refers to as Those Months—didn't happen at all.

Shinichi is back to being his normal self. Well, as _normal_ as he can be, and, again, she finds that _this_ normal Shinichi isn't exactly the same as before. It's a novel experience, acting like an observer. Well, that's not really true… Ran isn't entirely new on being the sidelines—she had done so after all during Those Months, but during Those Months, she had been an observer of one. Now, she's an observer of _two_. And she can't help it, she can't help but notice. Shinichi sitting beside Shiho. Shinichi eating beside Shiho. Shiho trailing behind Shinichi as he walks. Shinichi adjusting his pace and sliding beside her the moment he notices, which happens almost the instant she starts slowing down. Their shared glances. Their shared smirks. Their banter.

During normal days, only she can tell the difference. After all, all three of them are in the same class, eat lunch together, walk the same road home together. She can't help their class seating arrangement, but Ran eats her lunch beside Shinichi as well, the three of them forming a row, engaged in comfortable, light conversation about classes and classmates and teachers and schoolwork. During lunch, and on their way home, the conversation they share naturally includes her and her reactions, Shiho using her hand to cover the smile that tells of her increasing amusement as she struggles to keep a straight face whenever Ran gets so close to kicking Shinichi unconscious. Sonoko teases her when she asks if there's anything different— _Ran, you're just getting territorial over your husband! Just get back together, honestly!_ But, then again, she thinks that maybe, maybe, it really is just her being over-sensitive. Perhaps, perhaps, she is just unused to being in a group of three.

But when Shinichi comes across a case, which, of course, he often does, the difference becomes so glaringly obvious that she wonders how the others are so _blind_. Shiho disappears as soon as Shinichi disappears. Or, when she doesn't disappear, she knows exactly where he is or what he's doing. She stays back most of the time, usually leaning on a wall or casually looking at trinkets or details in the background. But, when things get heated, she'll appear at his side in a moment. During these moments, Shinichi barks orders in short, sometimes unfinished, sentences, and she sometimes doesn't react, but everything gets done in a beat anyway. Shinichi doesn't look back once. And then, once the case comes to a close—dangers had all passed, his deductions relayed to the officers—he turns and walks a few steps back from where he had been, exactly beside where Shiho will be. And Ran might not be the brightest but she can definitely tell, he doesn't look because he doesn't need to.

Of course, of course, Shinichi has changed. A person doesn't stay the same all their life. And she can see, he's grown up. And perhaps that's the biggest reason for his change, and she's happy for him, for his growth, but—but, how come? How can Shiho seamlessly integrate into this new world of Shinichi's? And she gets this funny feeling that it's not even Shiho _attempting_ to—she gets the impression that Shinichi is simply letting his world run with her _already in it_.

It's _their world_.

So, she waits. She waits for Shinichi to tell her: who is she? _Who is she to you?_ This question, she finds she can't ask him herself. She doesn't really want to think why right now. She doesn't really want to think why in the foreseeable future either.

It makes sense that if she can't ask him, she should consider asking _her_. One afternoon, after Shinichi successfully convinced Shiho again to go out with the girls "and actually be a highschooler", and Sonoko rallied the group to ban Shinichi from tagging along this time after Shiho kindly reminded her that they would benefit from avoiding coming across a corpse, she finds herself alone with Shiho in the classroom while everyone else is chasing Shinichi away for them outside. She knows he probably bribed Shiho again to go, having watched their quiet banter by Shiho's desk from her seat shortly before the chaos, and having seen Shinichi's changing expressions: from teasing, to fond exasperation, then to fake resignation, and, there it had been again, that smirk they share.

Ran finds herself looking at Shiho's direction. She silently observes Shiho, who is currently moving with a calm and grace that Ran personally thinks is somehow wasted on the simple chore that is clearing her desk and packing up her things. The moment she's done, she lifts her head and her gaze instantly locks with Ran, who suddenly feels as if she's been caught doing something bad.

Before Ran can even think of dissolving the tension, though, Shiho has already spoken, "Sorry, Ran-san, I've made you wait."

The sunlight on her hair and the tiny apologetic smile on her face jolts Ran to automatically reply, "Oh, oh, it's nothing!"

Maybe she heard the stammer in Ran's reply, or maybe the loud beating that has somehow filled Ran's ears has reached the now too empty, too quiet classroom, but Shiho must have picked up _something_ for her to ask, "...Is there something?"

 _Who are you?_ Ran _wanted_ to ask, but she suddenly found that she _couldn't_ bring herself to ask _her_ either.

And so, they simply continue standing in their places. In Ran's silence, there must have been _something_ again which prompted Shiho to say, "I'm just a friend, Ran-san." Ran admittedly did not know how long the silence lasted before Shiho had said—

 _What? Wait, what?_

 _Is she a mind reader?_ Ran's eyes widen. She's confused—had she asked the question out loud after all? And then her mind parses what had just been said: _a friend_ , is what she had said, but if _you_ are _just a friend_ then what am I?

"Hmm, I don't know how to explain it, Ran-san, just that you don't need to worry. He is my friend, as I am his." She quickly adds, "His friend, I mean."

 _She's a mind reader_ , Ran concludes, because she is a hundred percent sure she did not say anything just now. Her mind goes back on track in a moment: Shiho's words echo, _you don't need to worry_. It isn't like she doesn't see Shiho's casual avoidance, like she's making way for the two of them, for Ran and Shinichi. If there's anything Ran has noticed about Shiho, it's that she has this odd habit of gradually slowing down her pace or moving a few steps back once _some kind of moment_ passes, making Ran feel like there's an imaginary line somewhere that she has drawn and doesn't dare cross. Of course, Shinichi doesn't know, or doesn't care.

Either way, it really isn't her fault that Shinichi practically gravitates towards her. That's how it is from Ran's point of view anyway, _and, wow, just thinking about it kind of felt bitter_. Her mind unhelpfully adds that they're not even in _that kind_ of relationship anymore, so there isn't any real need for this bitterness, for these questions, and for any explanations. And of course that makes her feel _even more_ bitter—

"And I am yours as well." Shiho's clear voice brings her attention back to the classroom. Now, she can see Shiho's warm eyes on her, and she just feels so guilty, so, so guilty that she would even harbor the slightest bit of bad feelings towards this girl. It is just too obvious that she's usually cold from her few attempts to be cordial, but she does it anyway, tries to be at least less chilly, more lukewarm to other people.

Somehow, she remembers her first meeting with Kazuha-chan.

Shiho continues, "If you'll have me, of course." The smile doesn't leave her face. Her warmth, when facing Ran, is real and natural and it always makes Ran wonder if they've met before. For now, though, Ran doesn't dwell on it, instead nodding and almost shouting an, "Of course!"

Ran idly thinks that she must have done something special in her last life for her to be special to this special person with a beautiful smile on her face, now a bit wider, as she now asks Ran if they should go together to meet the others now.

She agrees.

They walk together in companionable silence. Surprisingly, Ran finds that the unease in her heart for the past weeks had somehow calmed. She _is_ aware that although the question she had not asked had received some kind of reply, in the end, it did _not_ get answered, not in the way it mattered, at least. She knows it will return to plague her mind again, but for now... For now, she gained a friend. Or, rather, she felt like a dark fog had been lifted from her, allowing her to see that for the past days, beside her is a friend, _her_ friend.

It doesn't take long for two of them to reach the rest. Waiting for them outside are the clearly triumphant group of girls, seeing that Shinichi is nowhere to be found in the vicinity. She catches herself sneaking a peek at Shiho, and she herself is unsure why she's even doing so. Shiho turns to look at her and their eyes meet. Almost in sync, the two of them smile. Ran smiles, feeling giddy at the release of some of the stress she had unknowingly taken on for so long. And Shiho smiled… _why?_ Ran doesn't have an idea, but she isn't compelled to ask. They're friends after all, so she's sure she'll have time to get to know why. Right now, it just feels amazing, and she can't help but smile wider. Maybe, later, she'll think about it.

For now, though, they have a festival to prepare for.


End file.
